Care notice for those who wash laundry as a hobby

Posted 13 Feb 2009

Clothing, Language, The Little Things | 12 Comments 

In looking at the care instructions on a set of warm-up trousers I recently bought, I was surprised by what I read:

The key bit of text reads:

If it’s not dirty wash at 30°

What?! If it’s not dirty, why wash it at all? Are there really people who do laundry for fun? Perhaps as a hobby?

The answers are on page…

Posted 12 Feb 2009

Drinks, Places | 4 Comments 

If you find yourself at Matilda’s, a bar in Chicago, and you’ve got a problem of some sort which you just can’t figure out, I am going to let you in on a little secret.

Not sure if that girl (or guy) likes you?

Not sure what drink you want to order next?

Not sure if you should head home or stay out late and call in sick tomorrow?

In the back corner of the back room on a wall near the windows you can find this little gem, which has the solution to all your questions.

Yep, the proverbial “answer to all your problems” is just hanging on the wall at an unassuming bar in Chicago. And no, I have no idea why it is located there.

A subliminal message from HP

Posted 11 Feb 2009

Daily Life, Places | 3 Comments 

As I was typing on my HP laptop today I realized that I had this hankering to climb the second tallest mountain in the world.

Weirder still, I realized that this inclination actually arises every time I sit at my laptop.

After pondering this issue for a bit, I had a eureka moment when I looked once again in detail at the keyboard:

Forget Everest …

Shoot the horses

Posted 10 Feb 2009

Daily Life, The Little Things | 4 Comments 

I was watching a cowboy western movie over the weekend, one from the 50′s or 60′s. Yeah, you know the kind.

In this particular movie – how bad is it that I don’t even know the name of the movie – the bad guys were riding into town to rob a bank, all hidden in the back of a wagon. (No surprise there.) The sheriff had rounded up a posse (again, no surprise there) to ambush the gang. As the gang attempted to make their getaway, there was a fantastic shoot ‘em up, with bullets flying everywhere, dead people falling over railing and all the usual ruckus.

As I was watching the shoot-out scene, I suddenly wondered: why doesn’t the sheriff and his posse just shoot the horses pulling the wagon? That would be the most expedient way to prevent the gang’s escape.

Ok, I know, what did the horses do to anyone? Whilst I am NOT suggesting animal violence, let’s consider that the sheriff and his posse are planning to stage a shoot-out in the middle of the town. Clearly, they are open to (a) the use of violence and (b) killing as a means to achieve one’s goal. I would have thought that killing the horses would have made it easier to kill the gang and thus win the day.

And for the record, this is Hollywood we are talking about. The horses wouldn’t really be shot or killed. ‘No animals were harmed in the making of this film ’ would still apply.

It would also have meant that the terrible movie would have been over that much the sooner!

English snow removal tools

Posted 9 Feb 2009

Daily Life, Places | 6 Comments 

Last week, when much of southern England was covered in snow, I found myself struggling to clear the walks and drive around my house. So did my neighbours. Well, so did much of southern England.

As a Chicago-area native, I am no stranger to heavy snowfall. Still, I was definitely under-equipped to clear the 4 to 6 inches of heavy snow with my snow removal tools.

How would you even start to clear 22 inches of snow with a broom, a rusty garden shovel and a dust pan?